Not Very Lady-Like
by kamikaze2007
Summary: All her life, Jo has had to deal with the same stupid, sexist questions from naysayers and busybodies, so one can imagine her confusion when her regular gym is visited by a dense but strong new member who doesn't seem to bat an eye at her gender. Who is this man and...why has he already said his name twice?
1. Part 1: Lightning Strikes

**I am a part of the Holiday Secret Santa exchange on the Total Drama Writer's Forum this year, and this is one of my several fics for it. This one is written especially for Asgore Dreemur, otherwise known as Meghan. I loved your prompt and I had so much fun writing it, so I hope you enjoy it and have a merry Christmas, Meghan! :D**

* * *

Jo's hugest pet peeve was probably the question that followed her, hot on her heels like a spoiled dog, for her entire life. It was an ornery and annoying question, one that was usually proceeded by raised eyebrows and stupid, smug smirks; and though the wording was usually different, it always went something along the lines of "isn't that a boy thing?" or "that's not very ladylike." Jo's response was always a well-practiced version of a reassurance that she knew what she was doing and she wasn't going to get hurt. At least, that's what it was on the outside. Her inner monologue involved lots of threats and curses, as who the hell still thought certain things were girl things or boy things anymore? It was the worst question she ever got, and it was one she got quite frequently which, one would think, would discourage her "manly" pursuits, but no; Jo's dream of being one of the strongest athletes in the world was only made stronger by the skepticism of naive busybodies. If only she could escape the damn question for once in her life. Even at her local gym, which she'd been going to for years, newbies would always ignore the warnings of other frequent visitors and bombard Jo with dumb questions.

One such occasion started like any other, with the new guy coming in and zero-ing in on Jo, as if sensing a female presence. That moment found Jo jogging on a treadmill while lifting a dumbbell in one hand (because yes, it was completely necessary) as the naive man approached her from behind. "Hey, are you usin' that dumbbell?" The guy asked awkwardly. Jo rolled her eyes at the mere sound of his voice, as that alone gave away his general IQ level.

She turned to face him, now jogging backwards while still lifting the weight. "Does it look like I'm using it, Red?"

The guy, decked out in a red jumpsuit complete with a matching headband scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Um, well...kinda?"

Jo's eyes were about to roll out of her skull. It was a new record of how fast someone could annoy her. "Yes, I'm using this dumbbell, Dumbbell."

"Oh, well..." The guy looked at his feet, seemingly scared to make eye contact with her, which was good. "I was just wondering because, uh, all of them are being used right now, and I was wondering if I could snag that one from you."

"First of all, my eyes are up here," Jo started in a feeble attempt to make him stop looking at his feet like they were the most interesting things in the world. When his gaze remained firmly planted, she continued. "Second of all, I _just_ started using this, so no. Sorry Jumpsuit."

"My name's Tyler," the guy said suddenly.

"Nice to meetcha, Tyler," Jo said. "I would offer you a handshake, but like we established already, I'm using this dumbbell. Anyway, call me Jo."

Tyler finally looked up at Jo, eyes wide. "Isn't that a—"

"Guy's name! Yes! I get that a lot," Jo scoffed. "But as you could have probably guessed now that your eyes aren't glued to the floor, I'm a girl. Your critical thinking skills are extraordinary, really."

"Well, Jo..." Tyler attempted to look behind her at the treadmill's settings to no avail. "Isn't it kind of dangerous to use that thing backwards?"

"Of course not," Jo said. "I'm managing just fine, aren't I?"

"Fair enough," Tyler said with a nod. "So, uh...there's an awful lot of weight on that dumbbell."

"Yeah, and?" Jo asked, mentally preparing herself for the question she hated oh so much.

"Isn't that a little much for you?" Tyler asked, naive but well-meaning.

Jo shook her head, disappointed in Tyler. "Oh man, poor, poor Jumpsuit. This is the weight I usually use. It's no problem for me. Why don't you take a look at my incredibly ripped arm and tell me how big the muscles you see are?" With that, she offered him her arm to examine.

"I, uh...see those muscles, but..."

"But what?" Jo couldn't help but snap a bit at Tyler's sheepishness.

Tyler kicked at the ground nervously. "I've just uh, never met a girl who was so strong before."

"Then you haven't met enough girls," Jo said. "Besides, this is the least I can do."

"R-really?" Tyler asked.

"Yeah!" Jo was starting to get into this description of just how awesome she was. "This is just my warm-up for the day. After this, I'm probably going to head over to the abdominal bench, then I'm thinking of using the bench press for a bit, and I'm considering ending it with another quarter-mile jog on this here treadmill."

"Whoa..." Tyler said, absorbing everything. "I didn't even know we had an abdominal bench..."

Jo nodded confidently. "We do indeed."

Tyler did a little hop in place, which almost startled Jo into losing pace with the treadmill. "I wanna watch you bench press!"

"Yeah?" Jo asked, sensing a challenge.

Tyler nodded eagerly. "I wanna watch you bench as much as you can! I've never met a strong girl before, and I wanna see how I stack up to you."

Jo couldn't help but smile at this poor, poor boy. "Well Tyler, you have yourself a deal. But only if you go first. Show me just how much you can bench. We can be each other's spotters."

"Sounds like a plan, stan!" Tyler said excitedly. "Oh wait, your name's not Stan..."

Jo shook her head and chuckled. "You're a special one, Tyler."

Moments later, Jo and Tyler found themselves at the nearest bench, Tyler laying down and instructing Jo on how much weight to put on his barbell. When she was done setting it up to his preference, she looked over the weights on either side and crossed her arms. "Hm, doesn't look... very fun."

"What are you talking about?" Tyler asked as he got to lifting.

Jo shrugged. "Your barbell just looks a bit...small compared to the ones I usually lift."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tyler snapped, losing focus on lifting and therefore starting to have a problem doing it.

"It means what it sounds like! You're not lifting as much as I usually do." Jo stuck a thumb out and pointed at herself with pride.

"W-well, that's just 'cuz I haven't gotten warmed up right," Tyler said. "In a bit, you can stack it the way you usually like it."

"Fair enough," Jo agreed with a nod.

After about ten minutes, Tyler put the barbell back into position and sat up, out of breath. No sooner had he started wheezing had Jo bolted to the rack holding the weights to rearrange his set-up. "Um, Jo?" He asked warily. "What're you doing?"

"I'm setting up the way I lift these babies," she answered.

"Oh...okay."

Jo walked over with an armful of the heavy metal disks. She gingerly placed the stack on a nearby bench before getting to work. "What's wrong? Don't think you can take it?"

"Um, well, I'm kind of exhausted," Tyler explained.

Jo shot him a glare. "Oh please. If you give up just when you're starting to get winded, you'll never get anywhere. Now suck it up!"

Tyler sighed. "Sorry. Not right now."

"Fine," Jo conceded. "Just watch me bench this pile of scrap like it's nothing." She pushed Tyler off the bench and took his place. She cracked her knuckles and got to work. Tyler watched in amazement as she benched all that weight even easier than he was benching his significantly smaller amount. Finally, Jo put the barbell back in place and shot up, sweat glistening on her strong brow. "So how'd I do?" Tyler merely stammered in response, which Jo took as a victory in itself. She nodded confidently and left Tyler to his own devices, ruffling his hair as she left. "Maybe someday you'll be as strong as me, Chicken Fingers."

That was merely one of the countless stupid exchanges Jo had to put up with. In fact, she could not name a single man that came into that gym with intent to be a regular that didn't treat her as lesser because of her gender.

That is, until _he_ came in about a year later.

That fateful day started about the same as any others. Jo spent her warm-up period jogging on the treadmill and jamming to music on her music player as she waited for her usual work out buddy to arrive. Finally, the tardy jerk made himself present with his usual rigid stance with one hand stupidly posed at his face. "Howdy there!" He said with his annoying, unwavering cheerfulness.

"You're late, Brickhouse," Jo said flatly.

"Yeah, my apologies, Jo." Brick's hand that he was using to salute went to the back of his head to scratch at it. "I got a little distracted on the way here. My anniversary with my girlfriend is coming up and I stopped by a nice little shop to look for potential—"

"Oh my god, I don't care!" Jo snapped.

"O—oh. Sorry then," Brick said sadly.

Jo shook her head, taking one of her earbuds out. "Sorry, I got a little snappish there. I'm just impatient. Usually I've at least worked up a bit of a sweat by now. Tell me all about you and Tinkerpale while we work up a sweat, okay?"

Brick nodded. "Yes ma'am. Let's get started right away."

They immediately got to work, taking a journey across the gym to their first destination: the squat station. On the way, they passed good ol' Tyler, struggling with his workout. He reeled back and swung at the punching bag in front of him with all his might, but the equipment didn't appreciate it. The bag came back and smacked him in the face, sending him sprawling. "Hey Red," Jo said with a wave, completely ignoring the actually quite common mishap. "How're you and Hot-Air-Head holding up?" Tyler weakly held a thumb in the air to answer her, and she patted the finger softly. "Good to know." When Tyler responded with a groan, she laughed. "He'll be fine."

"One of these days, that soldier is gonna get himself seriously injured," Brick said to himself.

Halfway to the squat station, Jo and Brick passed the entrance to the gym just in time to watch someone interesting walk in. Jo took a glance to the door and stopped in her tracks when she saw the man wearing the baggy football jersey and holding a bag in one of his hands. In the other, he wrote his name on a paper on the front desk, signing up for the membership. "Oh, would you look at that?" Jo mused. "Fresh meat." Unfortunately, Brick didn't hear her until after he noticed she stopped moving, which happened after he walked right into her, sending her stumbling into a shelf of equipment. "Hey! Watch where you're going, maggot!" Jo snapped as she scrambled to make sure nothing fell from its spot. "You could have broken something!"

"Sorry!" Brick threw his hands up in front of his face and took a step back. "Won't happen again."

Before Jo could respond, the new guy approached them, looking pretty confused. "Is everything okay here?" He asked in an obnoxious high-pitched voice. "Because I just joined this place, and I'd hate to have to leave because y'all got into a fight the second I walked in the door." Then, he did the weirdest thing yet and randomly struck a pose that involved flexing both of his arms. "I know this gun show is wild, but we can't have y'all losing control of yourselves because the Lightning is too fierce! Sha-bam!"

Jo and Brick merely watched him admire himself, both too dumbstruck for words. Finally, it was Brick who spoke up. "So um...new around here?"

The new guy seemed to notice Brick was there for the first time and stood straight. "Yeah I'm new around here. I moved here recently and this is the closest gym to my new place. You can call me Lightning!" At the second mention of his name, it was obvious he had to resist striking another dumb pose. "Excuse me, but where can I do some squats?"

"What, really?" Jo asked, jumping into the conversation for the first time. "You haven't even done any warm-up stretches, and you want to get right to it?"

Lightning cracked a smile at Jo and put a hand on his hip. "I'll have you know that I stretched plenty. This place is a mile from my place, so my warm-up is just the run here!"

Jo frowned, examining the guy from head to toe. "Good to know, I guess. Anyway, we were just heading to the squat station. Just follow Brickhead and I over this way."

"Oh, that reminds me..." As the trio started heading to their destination, Brick decided to get introductions out of the way. "I'm Brick McArthur, and this grumpy woman here is Jo."

"Good to meet y'all, I guess," Lightning said, uninterested. "Just lemme know if I ever need to smoke either of ya at anything at all."

"On the contrary, Brightning," Jo said with a laugh. "It'll me that smokes you. Promise."

"My name's not Brightning, it's Lightning!" Lightning snapped.

"Same thing." Jo rolled her eyes, already annoyed with this new guy. She was just waiting for him to bring up that sore subject so she could have a decent reason to sock him in the jaw. However, the entire day passed and no such question ever came up. Lightning rocked his work outs, too. He would take on several different exercises without breaking a sweat, and Brick was blown away while Jo was marginally impressed. After he would get bored, he would take the bench and watch as Brick and Jo would take a shot, all while bragging about how much he loved his muscles and how the NFL was definitely going to take him.

"Isn't the NFL an American association?" Brick asked in between huffs and puffs.

"Doesn't matter," Lightning responded. "I'm still getting in."

"I like that determination," Jo said, flashing him a grin.

Lightning nodded proudly and flexed once more. "If you need some...too bad! Get it yourselves. I worked hard for this drive!"

Brick and Jo shared a confused look and went back to working out, actually somewhat enjoying the presence of this strange new guy. Finally, the time came to visit one of Jo's favorite machines: the leg press. This was the one machine that seemed to give Lightning some sort of trouble. Jo went first for once, stacking the weights to her usual standards, and spent some time absentmindedly working the machine while Brick and Lightning chattered away. Though it was mostly Brick telling Lightning about his girlfriend and Lightning not really absorbing much. Finally, Jo lifted herself off the machine and motioned towards it, inviting anyone to get on. Brick passed his opportunity to Lightning, who eagerly sat down and immediately started failing the exercise. He pushed with all of his might, but his spindly legs refused to handle the same weight that Jo could.

"What's wrong, Light Bulb?" Jo taunted. "Didja skip leg day or something?"

"Leg day? There's a day for that?" Lightning asked through gritted teeth as he continued to struggle against the leg press.

"If you want to have a half-decent work out regimen, there is," Jo said. "What, do you just do whatever you want?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Lightning said.

Jo barked a laugh as she moved to lighten Lightning's load. "You poor, poor fool."

The instant she laid a finger on one of the weights, Lightning pointed a menacing finger at her. "Don't you dare! I refuse to let you be better than me! I'm gonna lift this if it kills me."

Jo narrowed her eyes at Lightning. Here it came.

"What? You think you have to be better than me at everything because I'm a girl?" She put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow at the man torturing himself on the leg press. "Is that what this is about?"

Lightning paused, looking at Jo with a confused expression. "What? No, it's just 'cuz I have to be the best at everything."

Jo shook her head, surprised at what she was hearing. "Excuse me?"

"Yeah, I have to be the best at everything, duh. What are you, deaf? I'm sha- _done_ doin' this dumb exercise." Lightning stood up with an indignant huff and moved on to the next machine as Jo stood in place, dumbstruck for the first time in years.

"...You okay, Jo?" Brick asked.

Jo tilted her head to the side. "I'm...fine."

Brick crossed his arms over his chest, confused. "I thought you hated it when people brought your gender into it."

"Don't worry, I do," Jo assured him. "But this is the first time it wasn't about my gender in...forever. What the hell is _wrong_ with this guy?"

Time wore on and Lightning continued visiting the gym for the same reason Jo did: their top-notch machines. Day after day, week after week, Jo would watch him do the same handful of exercises, refusing to shake up his routine in any way. Finally, Jo approached him on that one day she found herself at the bench press at the same time as him.

"Hey Chicken Legs," she greeted, standing above him and hoping Tyler wouldn't think she was talking to him. "Don't you have a routine of any kind?"

"What do you mean routine?" Lightning asked.

Jo raised an eyebrow. "So you're telling me you just come into the gym and do whatever the hell strikes your fancy?"

"I don't know what that means," Lightning said with a straight face. "I just come in and do whatever I wanna do."

Jo nodded, awestruck at this man's idiocy. "Let me guess, you still can't do the leg press."

Lightning shook his head. "Screw the leg press machine!" His lifting became a bit faster, as if proving how good his upper body was.

Jo crossed her arms with a smirk. "Wanna know how I'm so good at that machine? If I tell you, it'll give you a leg up on me." She finished her sentence with a chuckle at her masterful pun.

"Why would you help the one who wants to be better than you?" Lightning asked. "Sounds like the beginning of a trick to Lightning."

Jo held up her hands in a show of innocence. "No no, trust me. This will seriously help."

Lightning paused, looking at Jo with a doubtful expression. Finally, he put his barbell back into place and sat up. "Alright. How are you so good at the leg press?"

"It's called a routine," Jo said. "I know I said that earlier, but here's what it means. It means you plan your work outs ahead of time, telling yourself you'll only do certain types of exercise on certain days. For example, I have a day where I only work on core muscles, and some days I only do leg muscles."

"Hmm...okay," Lightning said. "So I need a routine?"

"A plan, if you will," Jo said. "And yes, you need one of those. You done on there? It's my turn to lift."

Lightning stood off the bench. "Help yourself."

Jo took her place and started lifting, neglecting to lighten the barbell, which resulted in her struggling to lift it. "Urgh...anyway, what do you think?"  
"I _guess_ I could make a plan," Lightning admitted. "I'd do anything to be the best, even if it means doin' smart person stuff."

"It's not really that complicated," Jo said with a grunt. "It's just...a matter of planning ahead. It's super easy if you have a calendar."

"I do have one of those..." Lightning said. "I dunno. It also means learnin' new exercises and what they do for what muscles."

"Well you're in luck buddy!" Jo put the barbell on its perch and sat up, already exhausted. " I know everything about every exercise there is, so I can help you out."

"Oh, sha-score!" Lightning pumped his fist in the air.

"You most definitely did _not_ score, but continue," Jo mumbled.

Luckily, Lightning seemed to either ignore what she said or straight-up not hear it, as he continued his train of thought out loud. "You can tell me about all the exercises I should do!"

Jo gave him a shrug. "I could, but would you remember all of them long enough to write them all down?"

Lightning put a finger to his chin, considering the question. Or maybe trying to decipher it.

Finally, Jo sighed and put a hand on his broad shoulder. "You're hopeless, Bolt Head. Here, I have an idea. Why don't I come over to your place some day and help you plan out a brand new routine?"

"You'd do that for me?" Lightning asked, astonished.

"Duh!" Jo said eagerly. "I like a little healthy competition, and if you keep neglecting your legs, my only competition is gonna fall apart because his legs can't support his big, fat head. I'm still the best in this gym, but with my help, you could maybe have a shot at dethroning me. Maybe."

"Alright then!" Lightning shot out his hand. "It's a deal!"

"We didn't make a deal, but okay..." Jo reached out and shook his hand. Once they let go, they exchanged when they were both free next and set up a time to meet and go over the new routine. Jo was intending on setting this routine up for herself as well so she could keep on eye on his progress as he went and also help him remember his set-up for the early portions of it, so her plan was pretty much fool-proof. Lightning told her where he lived and they departed that day with what some would call a shaky friendship and what others would call a budding rivalry.

* * *

 **I know what you're about to say: This is a bit short, isn't it? Well, I felt like diving this fic up into two chapters, the second of which will be posted in a few days. Just hang in there, I promise there's a thrilling conclusion to this laying around somewhere! See ya soon!**


	2. Part 2: Getting In Trouble

**Time for Chapter 2! This one brings in some new faces and some shenanigans, without which this fic would be sorely incomplete. Enjoy!**

* * *

It was a sunny, but chilly early-spring day when the two were both free next, and Jo slipped on her trademark grey hoodie and sweatpants before jogging the route to Lightning's apartment. The rain clouds gathering overhead caused the sky to match her outfit, and Jo barely managed to reach the apartment building before rain started coming down, not that she would have minded. She _did_ bring her hoodie for a reason, after all. She quickly tracked down Lightning's apartment and knocked on the door after double checking the number on it against the slip of paper she had brought with her. "Hey, Brightning," she called. "I'm here for that routine thing."

A few moments passed and no response came from behind that door. Jo raised an eyebrow and knocked once more. "Open up, it's me, Jo. From the gym? Hello?"

Another moment of silence passed. Jo tried a third time, this time knocking entirely too loud for the hallway she was standing in. "Open the damn door, Lightning!"

When still no one answered, Jo decided she was going to do things her way. "You know what? Fine. But if this is some stupid challenge, I'm going to blow you away. Just you watch." She loudly kicked the door and stormed out of the building, pulling her hood over her head as she ventured into the spring shower pouring down on the small town. She circled the building and found what she assumed was the window to Lightning's apartment. She jumped up and started climbing the fire escape in an attempt to reach it and climb in to give Lightning a whack upside the head. She reached the window to see an empty living room, littered with protein bar wrappers and football memorabilia. "Yep, this is his place alright," Jo grumbled as she grabbed the edge of the window and strained against it, trying to open it up. When it stuck in place, Jo cursed under her breath. "Of course it's locked. Why the hell not?" Jo tried to force the window open, but made no progress at all. She smacked the glass in frustration, causing her to pull back and yelp in pain.

She got to thinking about an alternate course of action, but before she could think of an idea, a voice sounded, loud, commanding and sudden. "Hey you! What do you think you're doing up there?"

Jo turned to see two police officers glaring up at her from just outside their blue and white car. The two officers looked like polar opposites, one being bigger and the other being thin and short, but both had their hands near their waists, cautious as to what was about to happen. "Oh no, it's the popo," Jo muttered to herself. She raised her hands in the air slowly and started stepping towards the ladder. "Hey, gals!" She said, trying not to sound suspicious.

"We got a call about a noise disturbance in this building, and we get here to witness a wanna-be break in in progress," the smaller officer said with a shake of her head.

"Now step down from the fire escape and no one else has to get hurt," the bigger officer said.

"Whats that supposed to mean?" Jo snapped as she started her trek down the ladder.

The first officer put her face in her hand. "MacArthur, it's supposed to be 'get down and nobody has to get hurt.'"

"What? We weren't gonna hurt her?" The second officer, apparently called MacArthur asked.

"This is off to a good start," Jo snarked as she reached ground level.

"Alright then," MacArthur said, walking towards Jo. "Now that you're down, come to the station with us."

"You're not gonna hurt me, are you?" Jo asked. "I'm promise I'll cooperate, officers."

MacArthur put her hands on her hips and nodded. "Don't worry, my partner here is like, eighty-five percent of my impulse control, so as long as Sanders is around, we won't hurt you."

"Thanks for that," Jo said with an eyeroll. She reluctantly let Sanders handcuff her and toss her into the patrol car. As it lurched and started heading towards the police station, Jo struck up a conversation with the two officers. "So uh, I know you hear this a lot, but I can explain why I was up in that fire escape."

"You're right, we do hear that a lot," Sanders said.

"And we're not interested," MacArthur continued as she took a haphazard turn at a freshly-red light. The poor sap she cut off honked at her and she growled in their general direction. "Hey, don't honk at a cop, buster! You're lucky we already have one culprit in this squad car or you'd be _so_ dead!"

Jo snickered in her seat, starting to like this louder cop. "Well I'd like to tell my story anyway, because I had no intention of breaking into that apartment."

"That's what it looked like you were doing," Sanders said, unconvinced.

Jo insisted on telling her story, periodically getting interrupted by MacArthur's road rage. When she was finished, Sanders turned in her seat to look at her skeptically. Before she could comment, MacArthur cut in, as Jo assumed she was prone to do. "Nice alibi, still breaking and entering."

Sanders shook her head. "Okay, we'll contact the owner of the apartment and ask him if your story holds up. If it does, we'll let you go free."

"Thank you," Jo said. "Although, knowing Lightning, he'll have completely forgotten about our plan."

MacArthur nodded along. "Guys. Can't live with 'em."

A moment passed where Jo and Sanders just looked at MacArthur.

"...Shouldn't that end with a 'can't live without them?'" Sanders asked.

"Nah," MacArthur shrugged. "You just can't live with 'em."

"Well then," Jo said. "I agree. Mostly."

"Mostly?" Sanders asked.

"Mostly. Lightning is the only guy not to hold my gender above my head at the gym, though I suspect it's mostly because he's dumb as a sack of bricks."

"Ooh, you get those comments too, eh?" MacArthur asked.

Jo nodded. "'You can't do that because you're a girl' comments? Yeah. I always get remarks about how my exercise regimen is unladylike. It's total bull."

"I know, right?" MacArthur agreed.

"Preach it girl," Sanders said with a nod.

"You just gotta ignore those guys," MacArthur said. "We're all pretty unladylike around here. Hell, we're cops! And you know what else is unladylike?"

"What is that?" Jo asked.

"Sleepin' with women. Boom." MacArthur held up a hand, offering a high-five to Sanders. Sanders didn't take the offer, leaving the hand hovering in the air awkwardly. "...What?"

"You don't just share that intimately personal detail with our convicts," Sanders said, shaking her head.

"Oh. Sorry." MacArthur put her hand back on the steering wheel and the rest of the ride was carried out in silence. When they reached the station, Jo was escorted into one of those temporary holding cells and told to wait while Sanders went back to the apartment to verify her alibi by asking Lightning about it. The time in the cell was long and tedious, but Jo managed to pass the waiting period by chatting with MacArthur about their favorite exercises, her time in the police academy, and a few other miscellaneous topics. Finally, MacArthur decided to ask Jo some stuff. "So, eh, we interrupted your date, huh?"

Jo narrowed her eyes at MacArthur. "Don't you dare use that word. We were going to plan a new routine, and then I was gonna go home and sleep. It was not a date."

MacArthur scoffed. "Huh. From how you sounded when ya talked about the guy, would ya blame me for assumin' that?"

Jo raised an eyebrow. "I...sounded like something?"

"Oh yeah, you sounded kinda like how I do when I tell perps about how great my partner is." MacArthur nodded confidently. "You got it bad, sister."

"Do not," Jo insisted. "Let's talk about something else now."

"If you insist," MacArthur shrugged. "What are you trainin' for? A girl like you can't just be workin' out for kicks an' giggles."

Jo puffed out her chest in pride as she answered. "I'm working to get into the Olympics."

"Oh yeah? What for?"

Jo gave a shrug. "Weightlifting, track, you name it really. I'll take anything they can give me at this point. Mostly. I wouldn't be caught dead ice dancing."

MacArthur suddenly jumped from her spot. "I know, right? Every damn Olympics manages to produce ice dancers more annoying and pansy-like than the last and it pisses me off! It's not even a real sport!"

Jo cracked a smile. "I know! And all those sequins? Ugh. That's the only part of the Olympics I actively avoid watching."

MacArthur looked like she was about to say something more, but the door behind her opening interrupted her. Sanders walked in, with Lightning following closely behind. Sanders had her arms crossed. "Are you guys bonding over a mutual hatred for ice dancers?"

"How'd you know?" MacArthur asked.

"We heard your impassioned rant from the entrance to the station," Sanders explained. "You need to stop giving your life story to every person we bring into custody. One of these days you're going to offend an actual pair of ice dancers. Again."

"Hey, that Josee girl got offended when I _looked_ at her wrong. And she deserved it for botching Canada's chances at a gold. Again." MacArthur looked away angrily as Sanders approached Jo's cell with Lightning.

"So this is the girl we caught outside your apartment building. You know her?" She asked the vacant-looking guest.

In response, Lightning nodded. "Yep, that's her alright. Why were you tryin' to break into my house, Jo?"

"Because you weren't answering," Jo said as she crossed her arms.

"Maybe I wasn't home?" Lightning suggested.

"That was the time we decided on," Jo shot. "It's not my fault you weren't home."

"It was?" Lightning asked.

"Yeah, we said five-thirty."

A moment of silence passed during which Lightning awkwardly looked toward his wrist. "It wasn't five-thirty, was it?"

"It was," Jo said with a nod.

"But my watch said it was four-thirty! I thought I had time to go grocery shoppin' before you got there." To illustrate his point, Lightning held up his wrist watch and showed it to Jo. Sure enough, it had the wrong time displayed.

"Lightning," Jo said, trying to remain calm.

"What?"

Jo continued while the cops were giggling in the background of the conversation. "Did you set your clock forward an hour last night?"

"Why would I do that?" Lightning asked, bewildered.

"Because last night was daylight savings time, you idiot!" Jo cried, throwing her hands in the air.

"It was?" Lightning tiled his head to the side, continuing to be confused by Jo's outbursts.

"God, you're hopeless, Brightning."

After they shared a nice, healthy laugh, the cadets decided to come back into the conversation. MacArthur went ahead, wiping a tear from her eye. "Okay, okay. Now was she allowed in your place or not? We got jobs to do, buddy."

Lightning took a moment to respond, but finally shook his head to clear his confusion up. "She's fine. I guess it's my fault you're in here, huh?"

"Gee, you think?" Jo crossed her arms and shot Lightning a glare. "Now get me out of here so I can do what I wanted to do today."

Sanders shrugged. "It's good enough for me. And less paperwork for later. You're free to go, Jo." She opened the door to Jo's cell and motioned for her to step out.

"Thank you," Jo said.

Lightning cracked a cheesy grin. "Hey Jo, I'll race ya to my place."

"Oh, you are so on, Sha-Numbskull!" The two didn't even wait until they got outside to bolt in the direction of Lightning's apartment as if being chased by a very fast, angry grizzly.

MacArthur chuckled as they ran off. "Ah, young love."

Sanders rolled her eyes. "Yeah, alright. Let's get back on the job, okay?"

"Sure thing," MacArthur said, making her way back to their squad car. "Say, we should probably go to that gym sometime. It sounds like a barrel of fun. Which one did she say she went to, again?"

"Um, the only decent gym in this town?" Sanders responded.

"Right, right."

The rest of the day consisted of Jo explaining certain exercises to Lightning and helping him plan out a decent routine. After checking and correcting every clock in his apartment, they parted with a promise to start the new regimen the very next day at noon sharp. The start of the plan was bumpy, as is to be expected of new workout schedules, and the hardest part was getting through the first three leg days, which were a lot of having to listen to Lightning whine about how this new routine was stupid and Jo's weights were obviously fake. However, once things started falling into place and they became accustomed to this new plan, things started going a lot smoother. Lightning found himself having a lot more endurance on leg day and Jo found herself catching up to Lightning in pretty much every other area. However, the more time passed, the less Jo found herself really caring. The more time she spent working out with Lightning, the more she would catch herself looking forward to seeing him and talking with him more.

Their heated rivalry didn't simmer down at all, but the friendship brought on by it was growing more each day, which surprised Jo. She didn't bond with Tyler or even Brick nearly as fast as that, and she had known them for years. What was so different about this boy who was about as bright as a burned-out light-bulb?

The answer came one Friday when an unexpected but familiar duo came in through the front doors of that gym. That is to say, they weren't the answer, but they sure did help a lot in reaching it. MacArthur put a hand on her hip and looked around, inspecting the place. "Hmm, yep, it looks mighty fancy alright. I can't wait to get started!"

Sanders took a moment to examine the area too before she nodded in agreement. "It's been a while since we've had the time to go to the gym."

Before they could get far, they were approached by Jo. "Oh hey, didja come to arrest me after all?"

Tyler and Brick, who were nearby, overheard Jo's jest and dropped their dumbbells, Tyler's landing on his foot. As Tyler curled up on the ground, Brick approached the three girls. "A...after all? Jo, what happened?"

Jo shrugged. "Oh, you know, I ran into some trouble. These ladies here almost arrested me. No big deal."

They shared a laugh as Brick looked between them confused. MacArthur put a hand on Jo's shoulder. "But nah, this time you're good. We're here to get ripped!" She dropped her bag and struck a pose that involved kissing her flexed muscles. Jo laughed at the similarity to Lightning's first real action when he joined the very same gym not too long ago.

As if sensing a potential flex-off, Lightning sprinted over to the steadily growing group and struck an even more ridiculous pose. "You _never_ have a gun show without inviting Sha-Lightning," he said in that annoyingly bombastic voice of his. The two continued flexing at each other like a pair of exotic birds showing off their feathers for each other.

Finally, MacArthur resumed a normal pose with her arms crossed. "Very impressive," she said with a smile. "How're your glutes, though?"

In response, Lightning raised an eyebrow. "My...what did you just call me?"

"You'll have to forgive him," Jo said. "He's not big into the leg muscles or really anything on his bottom half."

"Hey, I care about my—"

Jo didn't let him finish his sentence. A hand to the mouth and a kick in the shin solved that problem.

Sanders and MacArthur looked at each other awkwardly. "Anyway..." Sanders started, "we'll just...go get ready to work out."

"Booyeah!" MacAthur pumped her fists in the air and they went to the locker rooms to change.

The day wore on, Jo and Lightning doing their regimen while occasionally seeing the cadet duo, who were trying a little of everything that day, just to get a feel for all the machines. It wasn't until they were in the locker rooms again that Jo managed to strike up a normal conversation with them. As they changed, they mostly talked about how the different machines felt, what the gym did right and some things that weren't so great. Finally, MacArthur brought up a subject Jo was hoping she had forgotten about. "So, how about that Lightning fella, huh?"

"What about him?" Jo asked, not quite following.

"You still totally like him," MacArthur teased.

"What? I do not!" Jo crossed her arms defiantly. "He's my rival. We inspire each other to work harder. There's nothing more to it than that."

Sanders shook her head. "MacArthur, I think we should drop it." Just before Jo could extend her thanks, Sanders continued with, "I think she meshes well with the military kid."

"That Brick guy?" MacArthur asked.

"Oh hell no!" Jo spat, even angrier than before. "Brick's a nice guy and all, but he's way too wimpy for my tastes. I don't need a man, but if I wanted one, it would be a man who takes charge. Not Soggy Brickhouse out there." She didn't even need to mention that Brick was already with someone, as Sanders had thankfully dropped the subject.

Unfortunately, MacArhur hadn't. "So you mean like Lightning?"

Jo rolled her eyes. "Oh please."

"Look man, I totally agree with you on the don't need a man thing," MacArthur started. "But if you did, I'd say go for that Lightning before someone else snatches him up. He seems nice. And you two obviously enjoy each other's company so much."

Jo stood, ready to leave. "Thanks for the advice, but I think I can handle my own love life. Or lack thereof."

MacArthur shrugged. "Hey, I'm just tryin' to help."

Despite herself, Jo managed to give MacArthur a smile. "Thanks. I appreciate that you're willing to help a stranger you arrested once."

"No problem!" MacArthur said happily. "You seem nice."

"You do too, Gluteus. Maybe I'll see you two around sometime. I'd love to kick your asses at...well, anything."

"Oh, you are so on!" MacArthur said, shooting up from her seat.

Sanders laughed and put a calming hand on her partner's shoulder. "We'd like that, Jo. See you around."

"Back atcha, Isles. Keep an eye on Rizzoli for me, alright?" With that, Jo left the locker room and headed for the entrance to the gym. There, she saw Lightning, also heading out for the day. "Oh, hey Sha-Doofus," she greeted. "See ya right back here on Monday?"

"Yeah, as usual!" Lightning said. He turned to leave, but suddenly, Jo remembered everything MacArthur had said about Lightning in a rush of a...strange emotion she hadn't felt before. She didn't really...want Lightning to leave.

Before she could think better of it, she found herself calling to him. "Hey Lightning!"

From about twenty feet away, Lightning turned, confused. "What?"

Jo jogged to his side so they wouldn't have to yell across the street like a couple of morons. "So, er, does it have to be Monday?"

"What do you mean?" Lightning asked. "Don't tell me my rival's takin' a break on me!"

"No no! I wasn't thinking of later." When Lightning didn't respond, she sighed. "What if we saw each other sooner?"

"You mean you wanna come back here tomorrow? Or Sunday?" he asked, still not quite getting it.

"I mean, it doesn't have to be at the gym," Jo said.

"Girl, you're confusing me."

Jo slapped her forehead. "You're impossible. Forget it. I'll see you on Monday."

She turned to walk away, frustrated with Lightning's density, but was stopped by his hand on her shoulder. "Uh, Jo? Are you sayin' you wanna hang out this weekend?"

She turned and cracked a grin. "Hey, he can do math after all."

Lightning raised an eyebrow. "What...what does math have to do with anything?"

Jo shook her head. "Continue with your train of thought, Brightning."

"Uh, anyway..." Lightning scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I'm free tomorrow night. Wanna catch a movie or somethin'?"

"That sounds suitably barf-inducing. Catch ya tomorrow." With that, Jo and Lightning parted ways for the night, unlikely friends turned into...something else.

Whatever they were, they had a movie date the next night.

And how did they decide who paid for everything? By seeing who could do the most push-ups in thirty seconds, obviously.


End file.
